Ben Crane fires 63 to secure lead in Memphis

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Ben Crane shot a 7-under-par 63 on Thursday at TPC at Southwind to take the lead in the suspended first round of the St. Jude Classic.

Crane took advantage of a 3½-hour delay that left nearly perfect scoring conditions with no wind and rain-softened greens. He had five of his seven birdies on his final nine, the last a few minutes before play was suspended because of darkness.

Sixty players were unable to finish the round.

Peter Malnati shot a 65, and Billy Horschel also was 5 under with two holes left to play.

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Retief Goosen and Joe Durant each had a 66, and Phil Mickelson opened with a 67.

Crane needed only 24 putts for his best round of the season, including a 27-footer for birdie on his final hole at No. 9 with only a handful of people watching because officials closed the course to spectators because of the high winds with the storm.

“We caught a huge break being on this side of the wave,” Crane said. “You know this is ideal Memphis weather. It’s as good as it gets. It was calm, barely any wind. The greens softened up. We were able to attack some of the pins.”

Kyle Stanley of Gig Harbor was 2 under through 16 holes. Michael Putnam from University Place shot a 70. Former Husky Alex Prugh had a 72.